


School Night

by kikabennet



Series: The Wonderful World of Teenagers [7]
Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Domesticity, Gay dads, High School, Multi, Original Character(s), Teacher!Ian, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-05-29 15:41:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6382483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kikabennet/pseuds/kikabennet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new installment of the "Wonderful World of Teenagers" series. Picks up right after "Connected". It's fall and school has started. The kids continue to grow, Ian and Mickey struggle through raising tweens and teens, and pretty soon you'll see teenage heartbreak, teenage 'aww' moments, Halloween parties, and other fun things. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wow! My first long first chapter in a long time. I hope you enjoy, and I promise the next chapter will have a lot of Ian/Mickey because of reasons, and remember if you have any questions or ideas, please them in the comments or send me a message and I try and respond to every single comment. Enjoy!

“Rise and shine, guys,” Ian said, entering the boys room and flipping the light on and off. “First day of school.”

Yevgeny and Gavrel both groaned and sat up yawning. The first day of school was always the worst. They heard Izzy yammering away to Mickey, already bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. They wished they could be more like their sister.

“Are the boys up yet?” She asked, poking their head into their room. She held her nose and said, “This room smells like butt and B.O.”

“You smell like butt and B.O,” Gavrel retorted grumpily, climbing out of bed and scratching his butt through his pajama bottoms. Ian rubbed his hair affectionately and fixed the collar of his own shirt. He was teaching this year.

In the kitchen, he'd actually made breakfast, and a good breakfast too-grapefruit and French toast. After today, it would be cereal and oatmeal, or on days where he would run late, the kids would fend for themselves.

“Finally I'm not the only one getting up at the buttcrack of dawn,” Mickey said when they all came down to the kitchen, sipping his coffee standing up at the kitchen counter. “Lazy ass kids.”

“You'd better not mean me,” Ian said, scooting past him to start the crock pot for dinner. “I get up and make you coffee.”

“Yeah, on the days you go running,” Mickey pointed out. He curiously peered into the crock pot. “What's this?”

“Stew,” Ian said.

Izzy sat down and settled to eat her French toast.

“I'm starting the sixth grade,” she said, chewing. “I'm so excited. I'm going to be in junior high.”

“Want me to take you?” Ian asked. “I mean, I'm going to North Side, but I can wing it this morning.”

“That's okay,” Izzy told him. “I'll ride the bus with Joey.”

She was excited because junior high meant a new beginning. The school district had recently had a change of zoning to pocket in richer areas to South Side so Canareyville children blended in together, so there would be a lot of kids that didn't know her. A chance for her to make friends.

“You didn't offer me a ride,” Gavrel said.

“You're gonna let your little sister ride the bus alone?” Mickey asked, eyebrows raised. “Really?”

“She won't be alone,” Gavrel said. “She's riding with Slop.”

“Slop?” Yevgeny frowned.

“Pols spelled backwards,” Ian explained, and his oldest son nodded in understanding.

“You're ridin' the bus,” Mickey told him. “Get over it.”

Gavrel only rolled his eyes and continued to eat his breakfast. Even though it was exciting for Izzy because she was starting a new school, a new way of life practically with multiple classes and what not, nothing exciting was happening for Gavrel, who was going into the eighth grade. Yevgeny was entering his junior year of high school. Gavrel could only imagine by junior year one was only waiting to be a senior. He'd often heard Ian and Mickey, and even Svetlana and Alex, discuss graduation gifts and college.

“Alright, I gotta go,” Mickey said, setting his coffee mug down. “Have a good day, all that shit-” he obediently pecked Ian on the lips and then kissed the top of Izzy's head, Gavvie's cheek, and Yevgeny's forehead. “Bye.”

“Bye, Daddy,” Izzy said cheerfully while the boys muttered, “Bye, Dad.”

Ian glanced at the microwave clock. “I should get going too.”

He also kissed the kids and dropped a smiley face eraser in Izzy's hand.

“I know you won't make any mistakes,” he teased, giving her an extra kiss.

After the parents were out the door, the kids put their dishes in the washer and hurried to brush their teeth. Yevgeny was already running late, grabbing his backpack as he jogged to the door.

“Why are you leaving so early?” Izzy asked him, sitting down at the table to draw. She and Gavrel still had half an hour.

“Meeting up with Lita,” Yevgeny explained. “We're riding the L together.”

“Oohh...” Izzy grinned. “Okay.”

Yevgeny affectionately flipped her off, and Izzy made kissing noises at him. After Yevgeny was out the door, Gavrel stepped into his shoes, checked his blood sugar, and put a hat on. His sister frowned at him.

“Where are you going?” She asked.

“To sit outside,” Gavrel told her.

“Why?” She wanted to know.

“None of your business,” Gavrel said, walking outside.

Izzy only shook her head and concentrated on the stars she was shading. Gavrel stepped outside and sat on the steps in front of the house. In about ten minutes, Jakob arrived, walking down the sidewalk.

“Lucky,” Gavrel grumbled. “Your stupid private school doesn't start for another three days.”

He stood up and felt his heartbeat speed up just a little. He didn't really believe in romantic love, but Jakob made him happy, even on the first day of school.

“I promised I'd come over just for a little while,” Jakob said. “Want to sit out here? Enjoy the rare view of six-thirty in the morning?”

“No.” Gavrel took his hand and led him inside, dropping his hand like a hot potato once they were inside.

Izzy looked up from drawing and frowned curiously at Jakob.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi, Izzy,” he said shyly, and was whisked away upstairs by Gavrel into the bedroom he shared with Yevgeny.

As soon as he shut and locked the door, he pushed Jakob against it and kissed him. When he pulled back, he said, “I wanna fuck.”

They had had sex four times now (Ian and Mickey thought it was just the once), and Gavrel couldn't get enough of it. Jakob was still way too gentle in Gavrel's opinion, but he loved it all the same.

“Right now?” Jakob hissed nervously. “Will we even have time?”

“If you whip out your dick fast enough,” Gavrel told him. “Come on. I have school, you don't. It's only fair.”

Jakob hesitated. Gavrel rolled his eyes and got down on his knees, quickly unbuttoning Jakob's jeans and pulling them down along with his underwear. He took Jakob into his mouth and Jakob tensed up against the door.

“Okay,” he said.

====================================================================================

 

Izzy frowned at the stairs, wondering why Jakob was at the house so early in the morning. He lived across town, for pete's sake. Her wondering was interrupted when there was another knock at the door. She opened it and smiled at Joey Pols, who wriggled uncomfortably in stiff new jeans. She moved to let him inside.

“So are we still riding the bus together?” She asked him.

“Yeah, I mean, we'll both be on the bus,” Joey said with a shrug.

Izzy frowned. “Yeah, but...can I sit with you?”

“Sure.” Joey shrugged.

The two of them sat in awkward silence.

“Did you finish your reading assignment?” Izzy asked him.

“Yeah, it was a pretty good book,” he said, sitting down at the table across from her. “What are you drawing for? Art class?”

“I just like to draw,” Izzy said. “These are stars with designs inside that I like.”

Gavrel and Jakob came downstairs, both of them with disheveled hair and flushed faces. Gavrel wordlessly moved to the fridge and fixed them each a glass of water. Joey and Izzy stared at them as they downed the water like they'd been running around outside.

“Jakob,” Izzy said. “This is Joey. He lives down the street.”

Jakob caught his breath and said politely, “Nice to meet you, Joey.”

“That's my brother's friend,” Izzy told Joey. “He goes to a magnet school in North Side.”

“What's a magnet school?” Joey wanted to know.

“A school for smart, rich kids,” Gavrel said, and Jakob smiled sheepishly.

“What were you guys doing up there?” Izzy asked. “Your hair's all sweaty, Gavvie.”

She didn't wait for him to answer and stood up saying, “We need to go wait on the bus!”

“Okay.” Joey followed her out the door.

“I'll lock the door,” Gavrel volunteered, hanging back.

He looked at Jakob and the two of them moved to the front door. Jakob looked around and then nuzzled his face against Gavrel's slightly before kissing him softly on the lips. Gavrel's face turned red and he locked the door. As Jakob started to walk down the steps, Gavrel took his hand and kissed it.

===========================================================================================

“I'm so nervous,” Carmelita said as she and Yevgeny were pressed against each other on the train. “Do you think it's weird that I'm a senior starting a new school?”

“Nah,” Yevgeny said. “You'll do fine.”

She smiled at him and when it was their stop, Yevgeny motioned for her to follow him off. The high school they were attending together was one of the most crowded in Chicago, and in a very congested area. He took her hand and maneuvered through the sea of students entering the front entrance. He let go of her once they were inside.

“Hey, Yev!” Roseanne Barks greeted, walking by.

“Yevgeny!” Dennis Reese, a football player, hooted.

“You're popular,” Carmelita told him.

“Just friendly,” Yevgeny said sheepishly. He wasn't necessarily in the 'cool kid' crowd, but he got along with everyone. He'd never really been shy.

Carmelita, he knew, would be just fine. She was friendly too, and pretty, and sociable. He only wondered, somewhat darkly, how soon it would be before she had a boyfriend. He knew she wouldn't want him, not really. Sure, they were friends now because they worked together and had a similar traumatic experience, but she would branch out, make friends, and soon drift away from him because she wouldn't need him anymore. He also tried not to think about the fact that she was a grade ahead of him and would graduate this year.

He walked her to the front office, where two more girls, cheerleaders named Claire and Heather, said hello to him. It was crowded in the office, full of students who had not received their class schedules, and some new students who were lost and confused. He'd forgotten about the re-zoning to pocket in some of the nicer neighborhood kids.

“You got it from here?” He asked her.

She nodded and said, “Thanks.”

“Okay, well, bye,” he said, not really ready to say goodbye. “And good luck.”

“See you at work,” she said, tugging his hand.

Work. He'd forgotten about that. At least they would have work, which wouldn't get bad until she had a boyfriend to talk about and he would have nowhere to escape hearing about him. Why did life have to be so unfair?

 

===================================================================================================

 

Izzy knew to the upper grades that sixth graders looked like children, but she held her head high as she walked down the hall of her new school, which was not that much bigger than her old school, and only one story. Joey had already abandoned her to go sneak a look at the boy's gym, but she didn't mind all that much. Her plan was to make some new friends, some new girl friends. The girls at her old school didn't like her and thought she was weird. Izzy planned on changing that. She found her first class, English, and thought of her father, who would be teaching sixth grade English at a North Side junior high school. She imagined he was a good teacher. He was always so friendly and fun. She smiled, thinking that the kids called him 'Mr. Milkovich', which seemed silly to her because he was 'Dad' or 'Daddy' or 'Daddy Ian'. His students would never know how much he cussed or belched loudly or danced inappropriately in the living room so it would embarrass his kids. Izzy only pretended to be embarrassed, of course, because he was a great dancer. She planned on asking him to teach her so she wouldn't spaz out at her first school dance.

The class was small, but several students were piling in. The teacher was a man, maybe her fathers' age, with thick black hair and an attractive mustache. Izzy didn't even know a mustache could be attractive. He stood at the door shaking the students' hands.

“Well, hello there!” He said, shaking her hand. “What's your name?”

“Isidora Milkovich,” she said.

“Isidora,” he repeated. “It's refreshing. Take a seat wherever you like, Isidora, but not that cushy desk chair in the back. It belongs to a very important guy.”

Izzy grinned and walked into the class room where on the dry erase board was written in big, boyish handwriting 'Mr. Pulido loves the sixth grade fish!' Next to it was a poorly drawn picture of a fish. She knew she was going to like English class.

 

============================================================================================

 

Gavrel sat in boring history class listening to his teacher, who looked about a million years old, talk about how the eighth grade was a time to prepare for high school and blah blah blah. He was in GATE of course, the smart kid class, but only because Svetlana and Ian made him. He'd tested into it in elementary school, and was smart enough, but hated the work. If he was in regular classes, he'd coast by. Grandpa Frank had tried to talk Ian into it, telling him that Gavrel could always be the big fish in a little pond, but Ian had said no, and ever since then, Gavrel had been stuck doing actual school work that was tedious.

He inwardly grinned, thinking he was probably the only kid in the class who had gotten laid before school. He was sure of it, actually. His friend, Stephanie Seago, who he'd not seen since school let out, entered the class and waved at him. Her long blonde hair was put into some fancy braid. Izzy called it a fishtail braid, he remembered, and she was wearing a purple sweater, which she called bunnyhugs. Svetlana had said that was the most adorable thing she'd ever heard.

“Hi,” she said, taking the seat behind him.

“Hey,” he said.

“How was your summer?” She asked.

“Good,” he said, not going into detail about meeting Jakob, getting blown by Jakob, becoming infatuated with Jakob, losing his virginity to Jakob, or becoming Jakob's boyfriend.

“Good.” She nodded.

“How was yours?” He asked.

“Good,” she said. “I got to go back home to Alberta. Spent the summer with my nana.”

She was still smiling, but she squinted her eyes a little at him.

“I feel like you wanna tell me more,” she said, and then quieted down as Ms. Saunders began taking attendance, informing everyone to settle down.

“Let's catch up after school if we don't have the same lunch,” she said quietly. “Can I come over?”

“Um.” Gavrel remembered Jakob was coming over. “Sure.”

“Thanks, eh,” she said, flashing her dazzling smile at him. She no longer had braces.

=================================================================================

 

Izzy continued to watch Mr. Pulido from her seat as he greeted students at the door. One boy was wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey and Mr. Pulido pretended to rip his hand away in disgust.

“Learn someplace else kid,” he said, and then laughed good-naturedly and gestured him inside. “I've got my eye on you,” he told him.

A girl came in and sat down across from Izzy. She was one of those girls that screamed 'I'm popular'. Her hair was thick and red, falling down her back in shiny waves. She was wearing a little bit of makeup and had on an outfit that looked like it was straight from Pinterest, carefully and well put together. She also had a purse.

“Hi,” Izzy said.

“Hi.” The girl smiled at her.

“Mr. Pulido seems cool,” Izzy said carefully.

“Yeah, he's funny,” the girl said, and giggled at his message on the board.

Another girl, black with cool dreadlocks, some of them colored blue, sat on the other side of Izzy and told the girl on the other side, “Hey, Jessica!”

“Hey, Tiffy!” The redhead said in the same sing-song voice.

“I can't believe they put us in this South Side dump,” Tiffany said. “My sister said kids get shot out here.”

“Oh my God, are you for real?” Jessica said.

Izzy waited patiently for one of them to acknowledge her.

“You got put here too, didn't you?” Tiffany asked her.

“Um, yeah,” Izzy said. “I live in North Side. This place totally sucks.”

It wasn't completely untrue. Her mother lived on the North Side, and she lived there half of the week. Tiffany rolled her eyes and Jessica made a disgusted smacking noise with her mouth.

“So lame,” Jessica said. “Oh! Get this. Dawn told me there's a guy science teacher here who's flaming.”

Tiffany laughed and so did Jessica.

“He's what?” Izzy asked.

“Flaming,” Tiffany said.

“You know, gay,” Jessica said. “A total butt pirate.”

“I'll bet he's like 'Hhhheeeeyyyy, guys, science'!” Tiffany said, making the other girl bust out laughing.

Izzy forced herself to laugh too, though she knew deep down it was wrong.

“Is he at least cute?” Tiffany asked.

“He's okay looking,” Jessica said. “I'll bet he's gonna be looking hungrily at some of the boys in his class.”

“Let's hope he's not a coach too,” Tiffany said, and they both snorted into giggle fits.

Izzy's face turned red, and she dug her hand around in her sweater pocket, fishing out the smiley face eraser her father had given her that morning.

“So what's your name?” Tiffany asked her.

“Isidora,” she told her.

“That's pretty,” Jessica said.

“You can call me Izzy,” Izzy said.

“Well, Izzy, if you get the homo science teacher, let him see your shoes because those are kickin',” Tiffany said.

“He'll probably wanna borrow them,” Jessica added, and the two of them started laughing again. Izzy laughed too.

 _I know you won't make any mistakes_ , Ian had told her that morning.

Izzy knew she didn't deserve the eraser. She'd already made the biggest mistake of all.

 

=================================================================================================

“Boo!”

Yevgeny looked up from his lunch to see Lita standing beside him, holding her own lunch tray.

“Hey,” Yevgeny smiled, scooting over to make room. “How was your morning?”

“Well,” Lita said. “Economics is the easiest class in the world. Mr. Morrison flat out told us it's going to be a lot of note taking and then Youtube videos.”

Yevgeny smiled.

“And there's this super cute guy in my physics class,” she said.

“You're taking physics?” Yevgeny asked.

“Yeah, third period, Barnes,” she said.

“I have Barnes third period-” Yevgeny said, and then stopped.

“I saw you on the roll sheet, but you weren't in there,” Lita said, smiling.

“I was getting my schedule fixed,” he explained. “They gave me regular English and I'm supposed to be in AP.”

Carmelita only smiled at him, and looked away, shaking her head. Yevgeny dared to scoot a little closer to her on the bench.

“I'm super cute?” He asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Lita stared straight ahead, but she was still smiling.

“I've been jealous all morning of guys that aren't hanging off you yet,” Yevgeny said, and his face heated as he kissed the corner of her mouth. He quickly got up to go throw his trash away.

======================================================================================================

 

After school was a whirlwind of papers to be signed, dinner to be served, and the day to be talked about. Stephanie and Jakob both arrived at the same time, and Gavrel hurriedly introduced them to each other.

“Steph,” he said. “This is my friend, Jakob. He goes to some smart-ass school in North Side.”

“Hi,” Jakob said, smiling. Gavrel could tell he was trying to figure out who she was and where she'd come from.

“Jake, this is Stephanie, she's my friend from Canada,” Gavrel said.

“We....We...” Stephanie slowed her speech down and caught herself. “We were friends last year.”

Ian and Mickey greeted Stephanie, and Gavrel took them both up to his room. Stephanie collapsed onto his bed and sighed.

“Your room still smells like Cheetos,” she said, and Gavrel grinned at her, collapsing beside her. “Smell my armpit,” he commanded.

“You're so gross!” Stephanie laughed, slapping at him.

Jakob stood beside the bed, looking around awkwardly. Gavrel suggested they play X-Box, and Stephanie knew excactly where the shoebox filled with loose video game discs were kept in the closet.

“Grand Theft Auto?” She asked, pulling out a disc.

After a few minutes of playing and laughing, Stephanie and Gavrel were interrupted by Jakob, who stood up and dusted the seat of his pants off.

“I have to get home,” he said.

“Oh, okay,” Stephanie said. “It was nice to meet you, Jake.”

“You too, Stephanie.” He smiled, but Gavrel could tell the smile was forced.

“Hold on,” he told Stephanie, and followed Jakob down the stairs and out the front door.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

“I told you, home,” Jakob said simply.

“Are you mad?” Gavrel asked.

“No,” Jakob said, sounding annoyed.

“You don't like Stephanie?” Gavrel guessed.

“Who is Stephanie?” Jakob asked.

“She's my friend,” Gavrel said simply.

“You've never mentioned her,” Jakob said. “Not once.”

“I haven't even seen her since school let out,” Gavrel said with a shrug. “Why would I mention her?”

“Is she going to be coming over a lot?” Jakob asked. “I mean, I don't mind if she does. It's good that you have friends, but...”

“But what?” Gavrel frowned.

“She touches you a lot,” Jakob said, his voice small. “You seem very friendly with her.”

Gavrel stared at Jakob and said, “You're fucking jealous.”

“I'm not,” Jakob said, looking away. He then asked, “Does she know you're gay?”

“No,” Gavrel admitted. “But I'm not gonna tell anyone at school.”

Jakob nodded. “Okay, well, like I said, I have to get home.”

“I'm not gonna fuck her,” Gavrel said, hurrying down the steps to stand in front of Jakob. “Jesus Christ, Jake!”

“She likes you,” Jakob said, avoiding Gavrel's gaze.

“I don't like her,” Gavrel assured him. “Not that way. I mean, I did...”

Jakob looked at him now. “You did?”

“Before I met you, but I didn't wanna kiss her or anything.” Gavrel found himself confused and frustrated for having to explain himself.

He sighed and said, “I'm your boyfriend, Jake. Not hers.”

 

===============================================================================================

 

Yevgeny couldn't get enough of kissing Lita. Since school had let out and they'd gone to work, they'd sat in Lita's mother's car kissing for at least fifteen minutes. When they finally pulled apart, Lita smiled at Yevgeny, her dark eyes mild and sharp looking at the same time.

“Took you long enough,” she said, kissing him again.

“Fuck me, right?” Yevgeny grinned through a kiss.

They pulled apart for good this time because their shift would be starting soon, and Yevgeny held her hand.

“I'm sorry it took me so long,” he told her, and meant it.

 

==================================================================================================

 

“So how was it?” Ian asked Izzy at dinner. “Being the little fish again?”

“I love my English teacher, Mr. Pulido,” Izzy said, taking a bite of stew. “He lets us move the desks around however we want, and he plays music while we work. Good music too, like stuff on the radio.”

“Maybe I should do that,” Ian said, also taking a bite of stew. “Make any friends?”

Izzy hesitated. She had three more classes with Jessica, and one more with Tiffany, but she felt ashamed for laughing with them.

“Yeah,” she said, not wanting to get into it.

“My classes are good,” Ian said. “But there were three kids that didn't do the reading assignments.”

“What'd you do?” Izzy asked.

“I told them they had one week to read or it'd be a failing grade,” Ian said with a half shrug. “That's more than fair, right?”

“Ian, you fucking nerd,” Mickey said, shaking his head as he inhaled some more stew.

“I'll bet you never did your summer readings, Daddy,” Izzy told him.

Mickey laughed a little. “Fuck no. I didn't even read in school. I had better things to do.”

“Don't listen to him,” Ian said. “School gets you into college.”

“And that's why Dad is off again, on again teaching making enough money to pay the fucking cable bill,” Mickey said. “And I didn't go to college and got a plant job like a normal person and I'm making three times what he makes.”

Ian stared at him. Mickey looked at him. “I'm kidding.”

“Fuck off,” Ian told him and turned to Gavrel. “How was your day, Kiddo?”

Gavrel poked at his food. “I hate school.”

He wondered if Jakob would be back in the morning, or if was still mad about Stephanie. Izzy wondered if she should be friends with two super popular girls who made fun of gay people. The two of them ate in mostly silence.

“Well.” Ian stood up. “It's nice to have you guys back at the table again, on a routine.”

He kissed each of their cheeks as he collected their bowls. Mickey looked at him and Ian kissed him on the cheek too.

“Showers,” Mickey told the kids. “And it's a school night now so in bed and lights out at ten-thirty.”

“Okay,” the kids said in unison.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I am so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, SO sorry for the delay. I promise I won't be this late again. Sorry for the formatting. Had to edit on this site, still getting used to doing so. I just don't know what to say other than I'm sorry for keeping you guys hanging. I hope you enjoy, and remember to leave your questions and ideas as comments-I try and respond to every single one in a timely manner! Thanks!

“Hurry up, guys,” Ian said, zipping his pants as the Milkovich family buzzed around each other preparing for the day. “You're all gonna be late.”

  
“I need lunch money,” Izzy said, walking backwards with a hairbrush and ponytail holder until she bumped into Yevgeny's back, who turned around and took the brush from her.

  
“Make me one of those stylish and messy buns,” she commanded.

  
Yevgeny stuck his poptart in his mouth so both of his hands would be free and did as he was told. He had always been good with fixing Izzy's hair. Gavrel sauntered into the kitchen and took an orange from the fridge. The kids were still getting used to finding their own breakfast as part of their new back to school routine.

  
“What's for dinner?” He asked grouchily, wishing he could have something better than an orange. Ian had told him already that if he wanted a better breakfast, he would have to get up early and make it.

  
“Whatever Mom feeds you,” Mickey said, raising his cup of coffee as he moved between Ian and Izzy.

  
“It's not our night to go to Mom's,” Gavrel said, frowning.

  
“Um, yeah it is,” Mickey scoffed, sipping his coffee. “Tonight's our anniversary. You three ain't gonna be here.”

  
“Why?” Izzy asked.

  
“Because tonight is a kid free night,” Ian said, handing her a five and two ones.

  
“That's so gross,” Gavrel said, peeling his orange over the trashcan. “You two are too old to be having 'kid free nights'.”

  
“Gavrel, I'll karate chop you,” Mickey said in a casual tone as he texted one of his coworkers. “Don't think I won't.”

  
Ian only laughed affectionately and ruffled Gavrel's hair. A knock sounded at the door signaling Joey Pols was there, who had been riding the school bus every morning with Izzy and Gavrel. Yevgeny opened it and said a quick, “hi” to Joey followed by an even quicker “bye” to the whole family.

  
“Hey, Joey,” Ian said, kissing Izzy and Gavrel and finally Mickey before heading out the door.

  
Mickey glanced at the clock on his phone.

  
“Shit,” he muttered and set his coffee mug down.

  
“Bye, Daddy,” Izzy told him, and Mickey stopped long enough to give her a kiss too.

  
“See you Friday,” Mickey told her and then kissed the top of Gavrel's head.

  
“Be good,” he told him.

  
Once both parents were out the door, Gavrel sat down at the table to eat his orange. Izzy poured herself a bowl of cereal and offered the box to Joey.

  
“How come Jakob stopped coming over?” Izzy asked her brother.

  
“Because his school already started,” Gavrel said.

  
“No, I mean, even after school,” Izzy explained. “He wasn't here on Saturday either.”

  
“I don't know,” Gavrel said. “Maybe he's busy.”

  
“Do you think you should call him?” Izzy prodded.

  
“No,” Gavrel said simply.

  
“Isn't he your best friend?” She asked.

  
Gavrel ate his orange and didn't answer. Joey looked between the siblings and told Izzy, “I think I'm gonna try out for football.”

  
“Sixth graders can't play football,” Gavrel said, sounding irritated.

  
He didn't stick around to listen to their sixth grade conversation and went outside to sit on the steps in front of the front door. After Jakob had met Stephanie, he'd been distant and sour towards Gavrel, and they'd even gotten into a fight. Gavrel had told him if he was going to be such a pussy about it then he should quit coming over. And he hadn't been over since. Gavrel wasn't upset, or he told himself that anyway. Jakob had always been a big wuss. He was quiet and shy and weird and didn't get excited about anything.  
Even as Gavrel tried to think of all of the things he didn't like about Jake, he couldn't help but think about how it actually felt nice to hold his hand, or how he liked the side smiles he gave. It made him feel physically uncomfortable in a way to think about how lonely he felt when they slept in the bed together and Jake would have to get up and go home.

\-------------------------------------

Ian grinned at the text message Mickey had sent him just minutes earlier. The bell had just rang, so he had about ten minutes to himself before his third period class came shuffling in. He sat down on top of his desk, tapping his phone against his thigh, trying to think of what to text back. Currently, they were goofing around, making jokes about their anniversary. With the kids gone, they would have the house to themselves. They could have sex with the door open, walk around naked, be as loud as they want, be as kinky as they want...but their text messages had gone from semi-erotic to 'the best part of tonight is gonna be going to bed on time'.  
Adulthood had hit them too hard and too early, but they wouldn't trade it for anything else, not when they were in it together. Ian texted that to Mickey. Just as the third period sixth graders began to enter the class, the screen on his phone lit up, indicating a text message.

  
'You're fuckin gay Ian'.

  
  
\----------------------

"Mickey, it smells good in here!" Ian called when he walked in through the front door. "Did you mop?"

  
"No, Man," Mickey said, half jogging downstairs, freshly showered. "I bought some of those Febreze plugins and stuck them all over the house."

  
He pointed to one plugged into an outlet near the front door. Ian only shrugged and nodded and tossed his keys onto the little hand-me-down end table that gathered mail by the door. He moved to Mickey, kissing him so fast that they bumped noses and foreheads and had to pull back. Mickey held his head, wincing.

  
"A little warning next time?" He asked, but his tone was light.

  
"Sorry," Ian murmured, and tried again, this time with no calamities.

  
Mickey melted into the kiss, the scent of his cheap aftershave burning Ian's nose in a good way. They moved further into the living room and onto the couch, taking their time even though they didn't really want to.

  
"How was work?" Mickey asked as they briefly came apart for air.

  
"It was alright," Ian said, and then grinned as Mickey began to kiss his neck, and then suck on it. "My kids are finally getting into a routine and I think it's gonna be a good school year."

  
"Our kids or the kids at school?" Mickey asked into the tender spot between his ear and his neck.

  
"Kids at school," Ian said, lowering himself down as Mickey's mouth moved lower. "How was your day?"

  
"I made more money than you," Mickey said, and Ian slapped him, making Mickey cry out.

  
He had meant for it to be a playful smack, but he actually heard the noise and snorted into quiet laughter.

  
"You fuck!" Mickey said, trying not to laugh himself. "Fuck, Ian. Come home and beat the shit out of me, why don't you?"

  
"I'm sorry," Ian said, still laughing a little. "I didn't know I'd actually hit you that hard."

  
"You're lucky your face is too cute to break," Mickey said, straddling him, running his hands up and down Ian's dress shirt-clad torso.

  
Ian bucked up, and Mickey lowered down to kiss more of his neck and begin to unbutton his shirt. He sat back up and said, "Man, I know this is supposed to be 'that' night, but Ian, this couch is fuckin' small and falling apart-"

  
"You wanna move to the bed?" Ian asked, only slightly disappointed. He missed couch sex.

  
"Well, let's go ahead and see how it goes," Mickey said. "I mean, it shouldn't be this much of a hassle to suck your dick."

  
"You're not gonna have any room to suck my dick," Ian reminded him. "And remember that far cushion is kind of caving in, remember? Because you and Yevvie won't stop collapsing on it."

  
Mickey only muttered grumpy things and moved to get Ian's belt undone and slacks pulled down. Ian shifted slightly so that they could both fit on the sofa a little better. Mickey still could only fit about one half of his body on it with Ian also on it.

  
"We could fuck on the table," Ian suggested, feeling slightly embarrassed for doing so. They weren't some newlywed couple after all.

  
"Ian, shut the fuck up," Mickey said casually.

  
Ian sighed through his nose and helped Mickey with pulling down his underwear.

  
"I had it," Mickey told him. "I just can't move that fast when we're on this tiny-ass sofa."

  
"Okay." Ian stood up, pulling his underwear and slacks back up. "Well, let's get off of the sofa. Jesus."

  
"I just don't see what's wrong with the bed," Mickey said, running a hand through his hair.

  
Ian shrugged, looking everywhere but at his husband.

  
"Nothing's wrong with it," he said defensively.

  
"Obviously, you have your heart set on the couch," Mickey said, eyebrows raised high. "I'm not against the idea, I'm just not a fuckin' snake, and we're not playin' Tetris."

  
Ian nodded. Mickey sighed and lowered himself in front of Ian, who stared down at him.

  
"Are you gonna really act like this all night?" Mickey asked.

  
"No." Ian shook his head. "You're right. We have this one night to ourselves and-"

  
He pulled back and said, "We have three whole days out of the week to ourselves."

  
Mickey drummed his fingers against the thighs of his boxer shorts.

  
"Come on," he said, motioning for Ian to follow him upstairs.

  
Ian did so, and when they were in the doorway of their bedroom, Ian stared at the bed. He moved to kiss Mickey, but Mickey shook his head.

  
"Sit down," he said.

  
"Mickey, what are you even-"

  
"Ian, you want me to punch you in the eye?"

  
Ian shut his mouth and watched as Mickey removed something from their nightstand drawer. It was something wrapped in brown paper. Ian craned his head curiously to get a better look as Mickey began to unwrap it. It was a camcorder.

  
"Hello, early 2000s," Ian said as Mickey handed it to him. "Where did you get this?"

  
"Pawn shop," Mickey said. "It's new...ish..."

  
Ian turned it over in his hands. He looked at Mickey.

  
"There's something on it?" He asked.

  
"Not yet," Mickey said, sitting down beside him. "Look, I wanted this to be a really...a really GOOD night too, and fuck, Ian. We're not ancient. We're thirty-four."

  
Ian stared at the camcorder again.

  
"I don't get it," he told Mickey.

  
Mickey kissed him, his face heating up and Ian smiled just a little.

  
"What are you turning red for?" He asked. "Mick, tell me."

  
"I think we should tape us," Mickey muttered, kissing him again so Ian couldn't ask a thousand questions.

  
"What?" Ian pulled back. "You mean like a fuckin' sex tape?"

  
"Well, technically not a tape," Mickey said, rubbing the back of his head. "God, Ian. I don't think people really talk about it. I think they just do it."

  
When Ian continued to just stare at him, Mickey asked, almost meekly, "Do you want to...you know, do it?"

  
Ian looked at the recorder again. The idea seemed so...different, and weird, and he actually felt his skin heating at the thought of it. He licked his lips and drummed his fingers nervously against the device.

  
"Um..." he said.

  
"There it is," Mickey said, grinning as he went in for another neck kiss. "Fuckin' nervous, Ian? A little excited, huh?"

  
"A little." Ian turned to kiss his mouth.

  
"This gonna be kinky enough?" Mickey asked. "We're gonna watch it later by the way, and it's gonna be fucking awkward and weird, you know that?"

  
Ian grinned even wider and kissed his husband again.

  
"Let's do it," he told him, turning the recorder on and putting it so close to Mickey's face that Mickey almost went cross-eyed. "Let's make a sex tape."

  
"No, Man, you gotta put it on my torso. On my nipples," Mickey said, lowering the lens with one hand and raising his shirt.

  
Ian laughed a little. "Your nipples, really?"

  
"Maybe my armpits," Mickey joked dryly. "What do you think is sexier?"

  
"I do really like your armpits," Ian joked back in the same serious way.

  
Mickey took the camera and said, "Ian and Mickey in Paranormal Fucktivity."

  
Ian laughed, climbing off of the bed as Mickey kept the camera on him.

  
"Now you're supposed to strip, but then a fuckin' evil demon thing comes out of the closet and kills you," Mickey said. "Strip. I'll let you know when he's about to murder your ass."

  
Ian turned and glanced at the closet that was slightly ajar and Mickey started laughing.

  
"You actually looked," he said, and Ian flipped him off.

  
Ian took hold of his pants.

  
"Seriously, strip," Mickey said. "Like you used to at the...whatchu call it..."

  
"The Fairytale," Ian said.

  
"Yeah, that place."

  
"I had music to strip to," Ian said, and then gave Mickey an 'are you serious look' when music began to play from Mickey's phone. It was 'Pour some sugar on Me' by Def Leppard.

  
"It's a good song," Mickey defended weakly.

  
Ian only shrugged and began to sway a little bit as he shrugged out of his pants and then once he actually got into the music, got really into the stripping. As he rolled his hips and clapped his hands, he told Mickey, "You're supposed to stick bills in my underwear."

  
"Why?" Mickey asked. "So they can go back in my wallet?"

  
Ian flipped him off again, but continued to strip, eventually climbing onto Mickey's lap, straddling him, making holding the recorder a little difficult to hold. Grinding on him made it even more difficult.

"Don't break this camera," Mickey grunted, hardly caring anymore where the lens pointed. All he could focus on was Ian's lower half grinding into his lower half. He half grinned when Ian took his wrist and lifted the camera to focus on his own pelvis. "We need a tripod," he told Mickey, stopping in mid-bump to lean down to kiss all over Mickey's torso, holding the camcorder clumsily over his head to film them the best he could from an awkward angle. Mickey didn't respond with words, he only used his hands to grab Ian by the butt and try to pull him closer. Ian got off of him completely and even got off the bed. Mickey half sat up and watched as Ian carried the camcorder to the black vanity/dresser they'd gotten from Fiona and Jimmy a few years back that was covered in clothes and mail and school papers that needed to be signed and cleared some of the items off to set the camcorder down and leaned over to glance at the little view screen.

"We're really gonna do this, huh?" Mickey said, running a hand through his hair. Ian only grinned in response and moved the recorder around a little more until he found the view he wanted. He went back to the bed, stripping out of his underwear, and Mickey got the message and stripped out of his boxers. He looked warily at the camera and Ian distracted him by moving down the length of his body until his mouth was between Mickey's legs. This made Mickey forget the camera, and things began to get really heated. In the back of their minds, they were aware of the camera, aware that they could go back and watch it later-that they WOULD watch it later, and it made their toes curl in nervous anticipation. Ian took the lube that was already out on the nightstand-something special they'd bought for the occasion-expensive, flavored lube, and motioned for them to switch places so Mickey was still on his back, but his head was at the foot of the bed so Ian was in full view of the camera.

"You ready?" He asked. Mickey only nodded. Ian and Mickey went to work, being slightly theatrically louder than usual, and just as the bed started to rock, Ian's phone rang. "Fuck!" He breathed out.

"Fuckin' ignore it," Mickey told him.

Ian reached over to grab it and said, "It's Izzy."

"Then definitely ignore it," Mickey snapped. Ian pulled out of Mickey and ran a hand through his sweaty red hair. He gave Mickey an apologetic, half shrug before answering the phone.

"Hey, Diz," he said and Mickey mouthed a foul word to him. Ian rolled his eyes and put it on speaker phone.

"Dad, Gavrel's being a jerk and he's been mean to me all evening and Mom and Alex don't care and they keep getting onto me when I get onto him and-"

"What's he doing?" Mickey asked.

"Everything I say to anybody he has some smart-ass remark and he's just being rude to me and he made me cry because I'm so tired of him," Izzy said with a sniffle. "He called me stupid and said I don't know anything when I was trying to tell him where to go on that new Call of Duty game."

Mickey closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Ian rubbed the back of his head.

"Can I just come home?" Izzy asked. "I know you're having your no-kids night, but I feel like Mama is being unfair to me because every time she hears me yelling she gets onto me even though he's the one saying mean things. He just talks quieter."

"Where is Gavvie?" Ian asked.

"His room. He slammed the door in my face."

"Alright, let me call him," Ian said. "I'll call you right back, okay."

"Okay."

Ian hung up and looked at Mickey.

"Why are our kids such little buttholes?" Mickey asked.

Ian called Gavrel, who answered on the first ring. "Dad?" He asked, sounding confused.

"Hey," Ian said. "Everything okay?"

"I guess so. Why?"

"Because your sister just called us in tears," Mickey said. "She told us you're acting like a-"

"Gavvie, what's wrong?" Ian interrupted him. "I noticed for the past couple of days you've been a little...down."

"I'm okay," Gavrel said.

Ian looked at Mickey again, who sighed once more and forced his own voice to soften. "We haven't seen Jake around lately," he said."Everything alright between you two?"

Gavrel hesitated and Ian and Mickey exchanged knowing looks.

"They're fine," Gavrel said. "I'll apologize to Izzy."

"Don't apologize to her unless you mean it," Ian said. "You really hurt her feelings, Gav. She loves you, she looks up to you. You're her buddy."

"Hold on," I an told him. "Your brother's beeping in."

He answered Yevgeny's call. "Hey, Yevvie," he said.

"Um...hi..." Yevgeny sounded tense.

Ian frowned, which made Mickey frown. "What's wrong?"he asked.

"Um, well..." They heard voices that did not belong to Yevgeny.

"Yev?" Mickey asked more forcefully.

"Sorry, I was talking to the officer," Yevgeny said.

"Officer?" They repeated together.

"I wrecked the car."

\----------------------------------------------------------------

"Your first car wreck," Ian said, smiling at his son from the rear-view mirror. "A little later than expected."

Yevgeny sighed deeply. He looked a lot younger than he should, like an overgrown kid in his work shirt and waist-apron. His hair was disheveled from nervous sweat and his face was flushed.

"The important thing is you're okay," Mickey told him. "And besides. Fuckin' fender bender."

"I couldn't even drive it home," Yevgeny argued weakly. "I smashed right into the back of that truck." He rubbed his eyes and sighed, frustrated. "I was just so tired, and I have a Physics test tomorrow and homework...I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep and I've been getting off work so late," he said.

Ian and Mickey had been talking about it for some time now, and looking at one another, they decided now was as good a time as any.

"School's important," Ian said.

"I know," Yevgeny said. "I just didn't realize I'd have so much homework this year."

"You're quittin' that job," Mickey said, deciding to go with the Band-aide approach.

"What?" Yevgeny's tired eyes squinted in confusion. Even his voice sounded foggy with sleepy. "Dad, I can't quit."

"You've been working there for over a year," Ian said. "And it's good to have money and a strong work ethic, but you can't work and go to school this year. It's like you said-it's too much."

Yevgeny groaned and leaned back into the seat, rubbing at his tired eyes again. "Please don't make me quit," he said, sounding hoarse. "Don't."

"Yevgeny," Mickey said sternly. "It's not up for discussion, alright? You got so fucking exhausted that you zoned out and got into a wreck. You don't need this fuckin' job."

When they got to the house, Yevgeny allowed himself to be pulled into a one-armed hug from Ian and a kiss to his forehead.

"You didn't want me to go to Mom's?" He asked.

"You're a little bit older," Ian said, grinning slightly as Mickey unlocked the front door. "You know what kid-free night means, so I'll take it you'll stay out of our room."

Yevgeny blinked sleepily and shrugged, shaking his head. "I'll sleep through anything at this point," he said. "But gross. Please don't ever talk about that again."

Mickey scuffed him lightly and said, "Get yourself cleaned up and get your little ass to bed."

As Yevgeny started for the stairs, Mickey hugged him and kissed his cheek. "You know," he said. "I'm old and ugly, but I'm your pop. I know a few things. I love you."

Yevgeny nodded and muttered, "Love you."

"Bed," Mickey said and they watched him go upstairs.

"You're not old and ugly," Ian told him, kissing his lips.

"Fuckin' kids," Mikey said, shaking his head. "Can't even make a Goddamn sex tape without every one of those little fuckers interrupting in some way or another."

They went back into the bedroom and just laid on the bed, staring up at the ceiling fan.

"This was actually perfect," Ian said. "I don't think we're really meant to have the special, once in a lifetime kind of night."

"Why?" Mickey was indignant. "We don't deserve to have one night to ourselves?"

Ian rolled over onto his side to face Mickey. "We have three nights out of the week to ourselves," he reminded him. "And we always end up bitching about missing the kids."

He moved to crawl on top of Mickey, kissing him slowly, passionately. "It's gonna sound really weird," he said, threading their fingers together. "But I think we do it better when the kids are home."

"That really is fucking weird," Mickey said. "But I sort of get it. Just knowing they're here, they're safe-"

"Right." Ian nodded. "They're happy. They're _ours_."

The word 'ours' sent a shiver down both of their bodies.

"We don't need to be kinky or weird," Ian said, his voice low and breathy. "We never needed that. I get that now. The kids always remind me why I married you, why I'm with you, how good we fit together." He kissed him roughly, long and hard, breaking apart just because he needed air. "How much I love you."

Mickey blushed slightly and said quietly, "You know we hardly say that to each other anymore. I mean like that."

Ian kissed him slowly again and breathed into his ear, "I love you, Mickey."

It was the best sex they'd had in a long time, if not ever. It went on for hours, so late that they would scold themselves in the morning because they both had work and they were also down to one car until they could call the insurance agent in the morning. Just as they were starting to drift off, Mickey got up to turn the box fan on and then climbed back into bed beside Ian, pulling the sheets around them because it was about to get really, really cold.

"I love you," he told Ian, kissing him softly.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live! Sorry for the long, long, long, long delay. I almost gave up on this story, but I didn't. Please feel free to scold me along with your questions/comments/and ideas as I wholeheartedly deserve it. As usual, I will try to respond to each comment as quickly as I can.

“Hey, you wanna come over after school?” Gavrel asked Stephanie when she entered the classroom.

He knew it was unfair of him to use her to as a distraction for what was going on with Jakob, but he had to get his mind elsewhere. He was not going to bend for anybody, not even his boyfriend. He wasn’t some pet, after all. He could have other friends if he wanted to. Jakob was just being stupid about all of it.

“Okay.” Stephanie shrugged, but she was smiling, and seemed delighted by the invitation.

A substitute walked in shortly after the bell rang, a college-age kid with homework of his own who muttered something about not bothering him and he’d let them have a free period. Stephanie grinned at Gavrel and mouthed ‘YES’ to him before turning her desk and scooting it to fit against his. She took his hand and began to draw little designs on it with her pen.

“What are you drawing?” He asked. “Not flowers or some girly shit, right?”

Stephanie shook her head, deep in concentration. She bit her bottom lip and squinted at her work to get a better look.

“It’s a velociraptor,” she told him. “Wearing sunglasses.”

“Okay,” Gavrel said, smiling a little. “That’s fine.”

“It’s awesome is what it is,” she replied, smiling back at him. She continued to doodle more things, getting into a more comfortable position in her seat as she did so.

“You smell good,” he said stupidly, unsure of why he even said it.

Stephanie raised her eyebrows at him.

“What do I smell like?” She asked.

“Coconut or something,” He replied. “Do you use coconut shampoo?”

“I wash my hair with straight coconuts,” she said.

“Oh,” Gavrel muttered and when Stephanie busted out laughing, he knew she was being sarcastic. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

\---

After school, Stephanie rode the bus home with him, and Gavrel noticed how much she and Izzy got along. The two of them, perched on opposite facing seats, chattered away in a way that only girls could, making noises only girls and dolphins could. Izzy liked Jakob just fine, but they never really talked to each other. Jakob didn’t talk to anybody actually, except Gavrel. He was too shy.

When all four of them got off the bus-Gavrel, Stephanie, Izzy, and Joey, Izzy didn’t follow them to the house.

“I’m going to Joey’s house,” she said, trying to sound casual, but Gavrel could see it in her face that she was excited.

“Have f…fun,” Stephanie said, quickly forcing the stutter out. She turned red and tucked some blonde hair behind her ear. Nobody mentioned it.

Gavrel punched her in the arm softly and nodded his head toward the direction of his house. He waved half-heartedly to Izzy and Joey, who were already walking away, talking amongst each other. When they got to the house, Mickey was already home, sorting through mail in the kitchen. He glanced at them, and then did a double take.

“Hey, Steph,” he said. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I was in Canada over the summer,” she told him.

Gavrel took a bottle of water from the fridge and silently offered it to her. She took it and thanked him. Gavrel got his own bottle of water and pressed it against his forehead.

“Wanna go play a game or something?” He asked her, still holding the bottle there.

“Sure.” She nodded.

Gavrel took her up to his room and threw some dirty laundry and old school papers off of his bed and onto the floor. Stephanie flopped onto the bed and waited for Gavrel to hook the X-Box up and turn the controllers on. He sat down on the bed beside her and sighed. Stephanie furrowed her brows at him. He looked at her.

“What?” He asked.

“You must be so exhausted after sitting at a desk all day,” she joked.

He found himself actually enjoying playing video games with her, and he was remembering the time before he met Jakob, before his life became complicated with feelings and confessions. The two of them were lying down now, leaning against each other and occasionally swearing or groaning at something that went wrong in the game.

“I’m so bad at this,” Stephanie said, wincing as she caused something else to go wrong.

Gavrel paused it and said, “Hold on. I gotta check my blood sugar.”

“Oh, sure.” Stephanie sat up and watched him get off the bed to grab his pricker off of the dresser and prick his calloused finger.

He almost mentioned how Jake liked to do it for him, but stopped himself. It was a close call. Stephanie didn’t ask to do it for him, or say anything about it. She took out her phone and began playing a game on it. Gavrel stole a glance at her as she laid back down, her skinny, jean-clad legs drawn up and crossed at the knees. She was wearing a hooded sweatshirt and t-shirt, both riding up just enough to show a little bit of her smooth, flat stomach. She had gotten her bellybutton pierced over the summer.

He crawled back onto the bed and got comfortable beside her. She was still on her phone, her eyes glued to the screen.

“You ready to play now?” He asked.

“What? Oh, yeah…” she said, but made no move to put her phone away.

Gavrel set the controller down and drummed his hands on his stomach. He turned to ask her if she was ready again and at the same time, she turned her head to lean over him and set her phone on the night stand beside his bed. They bumped faces, and mouths, clicking their foreheads and teeth together.

“Fuck!” Gavrel winced, rubbing his head.

Stephanie winced too, holding her hand over her mouth. They looked at each other and snorted into laughter.

“ ‘m sorry,” Gavrel muttered.

Stephanie shook her head. “It was my fault.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds, and then Gavrel bit his bottom lip and moved forward. Stephanie pulled back slightly.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“Can I kiss you?” Gavrel asked, blunt as usual.

“Oh.” Stephanie’s cheeks heated. “You wanna kiss me?”

“I guess.” He shrugged.

“Yeah, um, okay.” Stephanie licked her lips and her face turned redder. “I’ve never kissed anyone.”

“Oh,” Gavrel said. “Well, you don’t have to kiss me. I mean-“

“I just don’t know if I’ll be any good at it,” she said.

Gavrel kissed her then, his face heating up all the way to the tips of his ears. Stephanie deepened the kiss to his surprise, and she wasn’t a bad kisser. Not as good as Jake, not by a long shot, but there was something about it, something different that Gavrel enjoyed.

The bedroom door suddenly opened. Ian walked in and announced, “Gavvie, clean laundry-“

He stopped and Gavrel and Stephanie quickly broke away from each other, both of them moving into a sitting position. Ian set the clothes down on Yevgeny’s bed and said casually, “Gavvie, I need to talk to you a minute.”

“I should get home,” Stephanie said, looking mortified. She picked up her cell phone and muttered a quick, “Bye, Mr. Milkovich” as she hurried out the bedroom door and down the stairs.

Gavrel started to go after her, but Ian stopped him, holding up his hand.

“Let me at least walk her outside,” Gavrel growled, moving past him.

He followed her outside and said, “I’m sorry.”

“Is he mad?” She asked worriedly.

“I dunno.” Gavrel shrugged. “And honestly, I don’t fucking care if he’s mad.”

Stephanie stared down at the ground, her eyes large and glassy, her face red. Gavrel sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“You’re a good kisser,” he said.  “I’m sorry I talked you into it. I’m a jerk.”

Stephanie looked at him now, and smiled a little. She shook her head.

“You’re not a jerk,” she assured him. She glanced back at his house uneasily.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” she said, and he nodded.

“Yeah, okay,” he replied, nodding.

She turned to walk away, hesitated, and then turned back and walked over to him, pecking him on the lips.  She walked away again.  Gavrel went back inside, ready to face his father’s righteous wrath.

“I don’t want you alone with a girl in your room,” was all Ian said, sitting on the couch as he tied his sneakers. He was dressed to go to the gym.

“You didn’t mind me alone with a boy in my room,” Gavrel told him, heading for the stairs.

“I don’t want you alone with anyone in your room except your brother or sister,” Ian shot back, following him.  He stopped at the stairs.

Mickey nosily joined him, looking between the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on.

“What’s going on?” He asked, giving up on being subtle.  He looked at Gavrel.

“What were you and Stephanie doin’ up there?” He wanted to know.

“We were kissing,” Gavrel said, looking away.

He could tell his parents wanted to ask a million questions about the situation involving his coming out and Jakob, but they didn’t, which surprised him. He looked back at them, and they were looking at each other, communicating in that annoying, married telepathic way of theirs.

“No girls in your room,” Mickey said. “Jakob either.”

Gavrel was not taking the bait. He knew that was their trick cue to get him to explain what happened to Jakob and how Jakob turned into Stephanie, but he would not give them the satisfaction of knowing.

“Fine,” he said simply, going upstairs.

 

=============================

 

Izzy loved Joey’s house. It was slightly cluttered like their own, but clean, and pictures of Joey lined the walls endlessly. There were baby pictures, toddler pictures, birthdays, sports games, bathtub pictures. He was practically immortalized all over the house.

“My mom,” he grumbled, embarrassed.

“Where is your mom anyway?” Izzy wanted to know.

“She works pretty late,” he said. “She has a house cleaning business. It’s hers and everything, and she even has people that work for her, but it takes a lot of her time.”

“So you’re here all by yourself until late at night?” Izzy asked, feeling sorry for him.

“I’m a big guy,” Joey said. “You wanna a popsicle? Or a pop? Or some popcorn?”

“Pop, pop, pop,” Izzy said, grinning. “You have any snacks that don’t start with ‘pop’?”

Joey smiled too and opened the fridge. “Um…leftover wedding cake. Mom and me went to a wedding over the weekend, there’s some wildberry ripple ice cream in the freezer, string cheese. I know there’s Oreos in the pantry.”

“Oreos with milk sound great,” Izzy told him.

“Okay, I’ll grab us some glasses,” Joey said, taking two clean glasses from the dishwasher. He moved to the pantry to get the Oreo cookies.

Izzy followed him to the kitchen table and watched as he poured milk to nearly the top of each glass. He put several Oreos on two paper towels. They sat down and began to dunk their cookies into the milk.

“I really like my English class,” Izzy said. “I wish you had Mr. Pulido. Who do you have again?”

“Ms. Raymond,” Joey replied. “I like her okay. She likes to tell us the really gross, bloody stuff about what we’re reading.”

He stuffed a whole Oreo cookie into his mouth and chewed and swallowed quickly before saying, “I like P.E. the best.”

“Of course you do,” Izzy said.

The sound of the front door unlocking made them both turn their heads. A tall, slim woman with short, cropped blonde hair entered the house. She was wearing jeans and a nice shirt. She walked into the kitchen and smiled at them.

“Why, hello,” she said in a kind voice. “You must be Izzy!”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Izzy said, suddenly feeling shy when she normally didn’t.

“Jo Jo’s told me so much about you,” his mother said, sticking out her hand. “I’m Eliza Pols.”

Izzy shook her hand. Joey’s ears turned red and Izzy knew it was because she wasn’t supposed to know his mother called him ‘Jo Jo’.

“He tells me about how well you draw and how smart you are and-“ Ms. Pols stopped herself, glancing at her son.

He turned even redder and quietly dunked a cookie into his milk. Izzy tried not to smile, but the truth was, she was actually very flattered he talked about her at all.

“My dad’s the smart one,” she said. “He’s the one who helped Joey with his reading assignment.”

“Well, Joey could have done it himself,” His mother said, tugging playfully on her son’s cowlick. “He’s just lazy is all.”

“Mom,” Joey said, taking a big gulp of milk.

“What?” His mother laughed affectionately. “You are. All you ever think about is sports! Don’t you remember when you were little? We used to read books every night.”

She looked at Izzy and said, “When I was in a book club, a million years ago, we were reading _Moby Dick_ and I would read it to Joey. He LOVED it.”

Izzy stared at Joey, who looked away. His mother chattered some more and let out a pleasant sigh, kissing her son on the top of his head.

“I’m going to go shower,” she said. To Izzy she said, “You should stay for dinner. I’m making cheesy chicken spaghetti.”

She walked away and Joey took his empty glass to the counter near the sink.

“You lied to me,” Izzy said sourly. “You big fat liar. You knew Moby Dick was a whale!”

Joey rubbed the back of his neck, still not looking at her. Izzy stood up and took her glass to the counter too.

“Why did you lie to me?” She demanded. “Why would anyone lie about being stupid?”

“I never said I was stupid,” Joey told her, a tinge of defense in his voice.

He sighed heavily and said, “It’s not easy to explain, okay? Not even to my mom.”

“What’s not easy to explain?” Izzy wanted to know.

“Everything!” Joey said, sounding frustrated. “School, sports, your dad!”

“My dad?” Izzy frowned. “Back the fuck up. What’s my dad got to do with ANY of this?”

“I like your dad,” Joey said, turning red. “I mean, not like him, like him. Like I wanna date him or something.”

Izzy made a face.

“Like I wish he was my dad,” Joey said in a small voice.

Izzy softened slightly.

“The reason I acted weird around him at first was because I didn’t know a guy could cook and clean and be smart and be a teacher and still be cool and like sports and stuff,” Joey said, turning the faucet on.

Izzy reached over and turned it off. She waited patiently for him to continue.

“After my dad left, it was just me and my mom,” he said. “I went with her to work and helped her clean houses, and I loved to help her cook and sew and she would take me to get toenails all glossy and stuff. That’s when I was little. And I did read, a lot. I loved to read. I wrote my first book when I was four. It was twenty-seven pages on notebook paper.”

He took a dish towel from the counter and wrung it nervously in his hands.

“But when I started school, all of the other boys teased me and called me ‘queer’ and they didn’t wanna play with me. When I was in the second grade, I kind of started to get it, you know? That guys didn’t cook and clean and it wasn’t cool to be write books on notebook paper. It was lame.”

He set the dish towel down.

“So I stopped. All of it. I started playing sports with the kids out here when we moved to South Side. I stopped reading with my mom, I stopped cooking and cleaning houses with her.”

He scowled at the sink.

“So I guess I am a big fat liar, but I’m not lying about sports. I do love sports.”

He looked at Izzy.

“Are you happy now?” He asked.

“Yes,” Izzy said quietly.

“Yes?” Joey frowned.

“Joey, I can’t believe you just told me all of that,” she said. “But I’m glad you did.”

She was suddenly reminded of Jessica and Tiffany, and how she played along with acting like boys were gross and gay people were even more disgusting. The very thought shamed her.

“But you should work harder in school,” she said. “You got held back just because you wanted people to think you didn’t care about school.”

Joey shook his head.

“That’s not why I got held back,” he said.

“Oh.” Izzy shrugged. “Why did you get held back?”

“My mom was dating this guy when I was in kindergarten,” he said. “He wasn’t a good guy. He hit my mom a lot, and me sometimes, and I had to miss a lot of school because he would sort of keep us hostage in the house. A different house, not this one. Mom was scared of him.”

He sighed. “She regrets it now, she says, and I know she does.”

Izzy wanted to throw her arms around Joey and hug him, but she didn’t. She wasn’t sure if he wanted that.

“So you missed school because of absences,” she said.

“Yeah,” Joey said. “And after the school got social services involved and figured out what was happening, we lived in a shelter for a little while for abused women, then we moved here.”

“And you changed,” Izzy said quietly, really understanding why he feigned macho guy airhead.

The two of them were silent for several seconds. Ms. Pols broke the silence, coming back into the room freshly showered and changed.

“Well?” She asked Izzy. “What’s the verdict? You staying for chicken spaghetti?”

Izzy looked at Joey and he raised his eyebrows hopefully. Izzy smiled and nodded. Ms. Pols let out a little ‘yay’ and kissed the top of her head, pulling her into a little side hug.

 

============================

 Yevgeny didn't put in his two weeks notice like he'd promised his parents he would. He would have to get his grades up, stop complaining about how tired he was, PROVE that he could do school and work. Lita smiled at him as she served a table their food. She was the most beautiful person in the world to him now, for so many reasons. He figured they were, but he'd yet to ask her if they were going steady. The table she was a group of kids from school. Yevgeny had classes with two of them.

"How are you?" She asked quietly, stopping as she walked by him. 

"I'm fine," he told her with a light shrug. "It was just an extreme fender-bender."

Lita squinted skeptically at him, and glancing around quickly, he pecked her on the nose. She lost the fight to keep from smiling, and he smiled too. Reggie, another server, walked by them and made a cat-call whistle. Lita shot him a look, her face turning red against her light brown skin. Yevgeny laughed.

"So...since your car is totaled," she said. "Why don't we take mine and go get some Tahitian pancakes? It's on me since you're traumatized and all. I know you get off at nine but I don't mind hanging around an extra hour-"

"I can't tonight," Yevgeny said with a sigh. "I already told my parents I'd be home. They think I wrecked the car because I'm overworked."

Lita sighed too.

"That makes sense," she agreed. "Okay, well, maybe after work tomorrow? We both get off at seven? You can come to my place...meet my parents?"

There was hope in her eyes.

"Oh." It caught Yevgeny off guard. "Um, sure."

She smiled and said, "You're the best."

He figured if he was meeting her parents, that definitely meant they were going steady. He breezed through his shift and caught a ride home with another server, arriving safe and sound and on time as promised. The perfect son. 

"There he is," Ian said, grinning from the kitchen bar. "I just started putting food up. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes."

"I'm starving," Yevgeny said, walking into the kitchen. 

He took a plate out of the microwave that Ian had fixed for him and ate it standing up. Ian watched him.

"You give your two weeks notice?" He asked.

Yevgeny stopped chewing.  He nodded.

"Good," Ian said casually. He went back to tidying up. 

"They, um, said it's gonna be really hard to lose a server right now," Yevgeny said, thinking Ian might at least give him permission to extend his notice.

Ian closed the dishwasher and said, "Well, that's too bad. They'll find someone else."

Yevegeny put the plate down.

"Dad, I really don't want to quit my job. I can make it work. I just have to manage my time a little better, go to sleep earlier-"

"Yevvie," Ian said, sighing in frustration. "Just don't, alright? I know you love this job, and you're good at it, but it's not up for discussion. You know I don't like to argue with you. You're the good one."

Yevgeny wasn't like Izzy who whined and cried and threw fits until she got her way, nor was he like Gavrel who could clam up for days or even go stay with their mother until all four parents had enough of his stubbornness. He really was 'the good one'. Well, that was about to change. He had something to fight for now. Even if it was just time with Carmelita at work.

"I'll just find rides then," he said, hoping he sounded assertive enough. "I won't take the car."

Ian frowned at him.

"Yevgeny," he said. "I said no."

"And I'm saying yes," Yevgeny said. "I made one mistake. I wrecked the car. You said yourself you were surprised I hadn't done it sooner. It's a normal, teenage thing, and now I have to give up work because of it?"

Mickey walked into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. He looked at Yevgeny.

"You put your two weeks in?" He asked.

"He's saying he's gonna keep working there," Ian told him, looking at Yevgeny.

"The fuck you are," Mickey said. 

"What is this really about?" He asked. "You know I can get my grades up."

Ian went back to putting things away. He accidentally shut his finger in the silverware drawer.

"Fuck!" He said, shaking his hand.

"Dad-"

"Yevvie, NO!" He snapped and then sighed and calmed down. "Look, we'll talk about it, okay? That's all I can tell you right now."

Yevgeny nodded. "Okay."

He went upstairs and found Gavrel fresh from the shower, lying on his bed, tossing a tennis ball into the air and lazily catching it. He sat on his own bed and removed his shoes. 

"They're mad at me," he said.

"What?" Yevgeny frowned.

"I heard them chewing you out," Gavrel said, "but they're mad at me so don't worry about it."

"Why are they mad at you?" Yevgeny asked.

"I had Stephanie Seago up here," he replied, catching the ball and holding it to his chest. "We were making out."

Yevgeny snorted.

"They wouldn't be mad at you for that," he told his baby brother.

"It's more complicated than you think," Gavrel said.

 

 

To Be continued....

 


End file.
